


Alien Invasions 101

by Lalaurie



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Banter, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-03-29 01:01:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13916031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalaurie/pseuds/Lalaurie
Summary: In the midst of an alien invasion, Nora finds herself on the top of Stark Tower, faced with none other than the God of Mischief himself. Because as it turns out, aliens, Norse Gods, magic, and lord knows what else are real. But just as she thinks the world can’t get any more absurd, she finds herself all mixed up in an entanglement of magic, superheroes, Norse Gods left and right, and not to forget - beating Tony Stark in Need for Speed forty-seven times.





	1. A Modern Viking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! This is a fic I’ve been fiddling with for a while, and to be honest I still down know how it will end xD But I’m having so much fun writing this one, so it’s one of those that I refuse to abandon! I have - uhm - 12 chapters I think, but i don’t quite know where to go from there! So I decided to post some chapters, and ask all of you lovely readers to maybe give me some input, ideas, and feedback :) 
> 
> Just so you know - this story is mostly humour and fluff :) But there’s a plot going on underneath it all - which is the thing I would love some input on! 
> 
> Please comment! :D Both negative and positive comments are welcome!

Chapter 1 - A Modern Viking

-o-

So, aliens were real. Nora had always thought that to be the case, though, because the universe was vast – practically endless – so there had to be _something_ , _somewhere_. Humankind couldn’t be the only life-force in this limitless void. She had kind of liked the idea that there was something out there - a civilisation that perhaps was completely different than the one on Earth.

As it turned out, humankind was not the only life-force in the universe, and Nora did not 'kind of like the idea' any longer. She would have much preferred if humankind turned out to _be_ the only life-force in existence.

But yeah, aliens were real, and when they finally decided to visit – _of course_ their visit had to turn out to be a cliché of epic proportions.

What was less of a cliché was the way the aliens had arrived. There had been no Hollywood-style scene of the high-tech-Nasa-space-centre variety. There had been no ‘Sir, our satellites are picking up on something strange – it seems something big is approaching Earth. At its current speed, it will arrive on Earth in less than four hours. We need to alert the President.’

Of all the alien-invasion-clichés, one with some forewarning would actually have been helpful, but no. Instead, the sky had suddenly torn open, allowing the aliens to just fly in and invade New York, completely out of the blue. Literally. 

The state of New York was currently somewhere between ‘Independence Day’ and ‘War of the Worlds’, complete with screaming, panicked people, running around like headless chickens.

Alien invasions made everyone a stereotype, apparently.

Nora had been on her way to the university when it happened, but she hadn't gotten too far from her flat, so she had sprinted back home, geared up, and headed back out again.

'Geared up' meant bullet proof vest, two guns, and two knives. Nora had spent two years in the army, and hopefully that training would come to some use now. It would have been even better if she had Emma there, because the two of them made quite the team.

Emma was Nora’s best friend, and when Nora had decided to join the army, Emma had decided to join her. It didn’t take them very long before they realised how well they worked together, and even their Major (after watching them go through different exercises over a few days) had seen the potential in it. After that, Emma and Nora had continued the usual training just like every other recruit, but the Major had created a special training program just for Emma and Nora, in addition to their usual training.

The goal of the special training program was to teach Nora and Emma how to work as a team, just the two of them. The Major had been optimistic, but even his expectations had been exceeded within three days of training, because not only did Emma and Nora go well together as a team, they were practically two halves of a whole.

Emma and Nora had been less surprised than the Major, quite frankly. They were practically two halves of a whole in everything else they did in life, or so it felt – so why would this be any different? This was the _perfect_ situation for them, knowing each other’s faults, strengths, and quirks – it only made sense that a training program like that would be perfect for them.

Eventually, Nora and Emma fought together as if they were one force – and a force to be reckoned with at that.

But Emma was not here now, and Nora would have to fight alone. Not that this was a problem, because she was very much capable of fighting without Emma, but they were just…stronger together.

She tried to call Emma (only to realise the phone lines were completely out of whack, of course) but when she didn’t reach her, she headed out by herself, with a lingering thought in the back of her mind, wondering where Emma was and if she was all right.

-o-

The aliens were not so much Independence Day as they were something from Doctor Who - not that this helped in any way, because there were no Timelords around to save the world.

There was always Iron Man, though. Tony Stark could accomplish quite a lot in that suit of his, but still...he was only one man. Nora wished the world had more superheroes.

-o-

It was rather a shock, entering the area where the fighting was worst. One thing was the aliens, but another thing was the…superheroes.

Captain America. She had completely forgotten about Captain America. She saw him now, though, throwing his shield around and fighting aliens like nobody’s business.

But… Captain America and Iron Man were not the only odd sight out there. Nora could see a woman with red hair, and a man next to her – the man was shooting with a bow, and _damn,_ he had some skill.

Nora moved swiftly and stealthily, avoiding the worst of the fray, because she really had to take a closer look at the scene around Captain America.

Nora had wished for more superheroes, and apparently her wish had been granted, because Iron Man was there, Captain America, that red-haired woman, that man with the bow, and – Jesus Christ – a huge, _huge,_ gigantic _green_ man! She had a moment of slight panic before she realised he was fighting _with_ the other superheroes, and not against them.

Nora was really happy she was standing out of sight for any aliens in the next moment, because if she had been attacked just then, she would most certainly have died, considering how her attention was elsewhere. Elsewhere being the flair of red that came down from the sky, and landed in the middle of the group of superheroes.

The flair of red turned out to be a man. A man with long, blond hair, metal armour, and red cape. He looked like a modern Viking. Or something in that area.

Nora was _beyond_ happy she was standing out of sight for the aliens when she noticed one more detail. A hammer. He had a hammer. And not just any hammer. That was Mjolnir. And the man looked like a modern Viking. Something clicked in Nora’s brain.

It was too farfetched, though. Wasn't it? She could not possibly be looking at the God of Thunder himself. It had to be a costume, just...well, a costume. A superhero suit. All superheroes needed a suit, after all.

But then, the man in the red cape threw the hammer. The hammer flew through the air with impossible speed, went straight through a stone fence, knocked down three aliens, and then... Then it turned around, swooped through the air with the same impossible speed - straight back to the modern Viking, and the modern Viking caught it without even looking. 

It couldn't be... Could it? No, surely not. Norse gods weren't real. Well, they could be real, but not like _this!_ That man there couldn't be Thor. That was just too... _insane._

Well, there was a huge, green, giant of a man climbing buildings like he had done nothing else his entire life, and there were _aliens_ invading New York, so who knew - perhaps Northern mythology was real as well.

It was not the time to think any further about that, however, because there was an _alien invasion_ going on.

-o-

Nora moved in the direction of Stark Tower, and she had this strange feeling inside her - a vibration, perhaps, or as if something was humming inside her. Like the vibrations from a guitar string. And it got stronger the closer she got. It wasn't a bad feeling, though – it didn’t feel wrong, and the feeling in her gut told her that this was not something she should fear. 

Nora’s intuition had always been exceptional, almost unnervingly so. There had been situations where the solution had seemed clear as day – all logic and reason pointed to one solution – and yet, the feeling in her gut told her to do something completely different, something that seemed like insanity in comparison.

The feeling in her gut was correct almost every time.

And now, there was this strange feeling inside her, like an echo of vibration, and the feeling in her gut totally approved of it. Still, though, she wasn’t about to blindly believe that she had nothing to fear. This seemed like...magic, or something. (And wasn’t that just completely insane?) And she did not know how magic worked. It might affect her in ways she wasn’t aware of.

She proceeded with caution.

She wondered if everyone felt the strange ‘humming’. Probably, considering how clearly she felt it, and how it got stronger by the minute.

Perhaps it wasn't _that_ strange, though, because there were a whole lot of impossible things going on up in Stark Tower. A blue beam went up in the sky, and she realised that the blue beam was probably keeping the hole in the sky open. Strange. The beam was the reason for the constant stream of aliens, so why didn't they do something about it? Especially because it was on top of _Stark Tower._ She couldn't really imagine Tony Stark approving of that. Perhaps they couldn’t stop it? Perhaps they couldn’t stop it because… She had no idea.

Suddenly, she found herself faced with an alien, and reacted instantly. She wanted to use her gun, but she could see people in the background, and didn’t want to risk harming them.

 _What?_ she thought as the alien raised his weapon, but she somehow managed to kick the weapon out of his hand – sending it flying. The alien seemed slightly taken aback for a moment, and she used that moment to pull off another well-placed kick, and the force of it sent the alien into the wall. Now that there weren’t any people behind him, she aimed her gun at his head, and fired. The aliens were sturdy, but a headshot in such close proximity – they did not live through that.

 _What?_ she thought again. The force in her kick had sent the weapon flying, and then the _alien_ flying. She wasn’t that strong. She was strong, yes, but not _that_ strong.

This day was getting stranger and stranger - and that was saying something, considering that the level of today's strangeness was already blown beyond epic proportions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another Loki/original character fic, and I realise the first chapter is somewhat similar to the other fic :) Thing is, I began writing this story before the other one, and ended up with two somewhat similar introductions :) The plot development is totally different though! And this one has a Thor/original character pairing as well :) Anyway, I hope you’ll forgive me for any similarities :) (for those who have read my other fic, of course)


	2. They Call Me The Liesmith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In where Nora manages to land herself in the middle of a Norse-god-family-feud.

Chapter 2 - They Call Me The Liesmith

-o-

She was running. Running for her life, in fact. This was not the first time she ran for her life, but it was definitely the most terrifying. Not even when she was sixteen years old, running through the woods with an upset bear chasing her – not even that had been as terrifying as this. One upset bear was nothing compared to five angry aliens. So Nora ran, jumped, ducked, and ran some more.

She wasn’t going to get away. She was screwed. It was a miracle they hadn’t managed to actually hit her yet. Thank God for small mercies. Those small mercies wouldn’t last though, so she had to find a way to escape, and rather fucking quickly at that.

Her escape came in the next moment as she jumped up on the hood of a car, then he roof, and her plan was to just _keep_ running. But then one of the small spaceships – those weird wagon-things the aliens kept flying around in – came toward her. Nora made a split-second decision, and jumped.

Well, she had escaped those five aliens chasing her, but she didn’t quite know if this was better. She was now hanging on to one of those weird-ass-wagon-spaceships, and the spaceship was _ascending._ It was too late to change her mind, however, because should she decide to let go now, she would fall to the ground and die. Simple as that.

Desperately hanging on, Nora tried to think. She wouldn't be able to hang on forever, so either she had to actually climb up on this spacewagon (and somehow take out the alien spacewagon chauffeur), or she had to just hang on, hoping that the alien would fly past somewhere she could jump off without dying.

Briefly thinking about how it was somewhat strange that she was still holding on without problem, Nora began climbing, just to realise the alien chauffeur was just about to take the scenic route past Stark Tower – right over a place she could jump off.

 _Shitshitshitshitshitshit,_  Nora thought as she looked down – realising this was as good as it would get – and let go.

The distance to the ground was rather – well, not good. This would hurt. It would not _kill_ her, but it would definitely hurt. She would probably break a bone or two. Or twenty-five. It all depended on how she landed.

She tried to twist in the air, but realising she didn’t have time to pull of any kind of stuntman-acrobatics, she just went for landing on her feet, hoping she would manage to make her body flexible enough to not be stiff as a board when she landed – because that would put all the weight on her feet, something her ankles would most definitely disapprove of.

She landed on her feet. Hard. She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for the pain that would most certainly follow when breaking both ankles in such a brutal way, but when several seconds had passed without any pain at all, she hesitantly opened her eyes, and found she was perfectly fine, standing there as if nothing had happened.

She curiously moved her feet, finding them perfectly in order, something that made no sense whatsoever, but she didn’t have time to contemplate that right now, and she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She looked around, trying to figure out where exactly she had landed. Well, her aim had been off, because she had wanted to land on the outside path-thing, but instead she had landed higher up, on a circle-shaped plateau. Square in the middle of it, even.

She shuddered when she realised that if her aim had been slightly more off, she would have plummeted to her death.

Shaking off the unnerving thought, she looked around. To her right was the outside pathway-thing, and in front of her - a pathway directly into Stark Tower. Into something that looked like a living room.

Now what, though? She should probably get back down again. Or something. She didn't exactly have a course in 'alien invasion 101'.

The 'humming' she had felt earlier was even stronger now, and she looked around again, trying to find a...source? Reason? She didn't quite know.

She still didn't feel as if it was something dangerous, though, and she just hoped her intuition was correct this time as well.

She walked down from the plateau, wondering what the hell to do. _Could_ she even get down?

"Well, hello," a dark voice suddenly said, and Nora’s eyes widened when she saw a man walking toward her on the pathway leading into Stark Tower.

Her entire being went into a state of complete alert when the man walked closer, and she saw his attire.

 _I’m in big trouble,_ she thought, looking at the man walking toward her. He seemed completely at ease, and it was obvious that he felt as if he had nothing to fear from her, even though he could see she had weapons on her. And something told her it wasn’t just an act. She had a feeling she would have absolutely no chance against this man, no matter what she did.

This was not just any man, that much was clear. His attire was truly something out of the ordinary – full leather getup in black and green, black, shoulder-length hair, blue eyes that sparkled with mischief, and a smirk confidently planted on his face.

His getup reminded her a bit of the modern Viking. It was completely different, but it was just something about it, something about the way it was pieced together, or…something – nevertheless, it reminded her of the modern Viking. And said modern Viking might or might not be Thor – the God of Thunder.

So…if this man walking toward her was something similar… If she had a Norse god walking toward her… Well, not only was she in big trouble, she was in seventh-layer-of-Hell trouble.

The smirking man walking toward her was carrying a staff, and the staff had a blue crystal at the tip. Interesting. Even more interesting was the fact that the blue crystal had the exact same colour as the man’s eyes. But the most interesting of all? The man was humming. Not literally, of course, even if she wouldn’t have put it past him, considering how unnerving it would be.

But that humming-vibrating-something she was feeling? This man gave her the same feeling. He didn't feel like the _source_ of it, though, which was a relief.

"What have we here?" the man asked as he got closer. "You I have not seen before. Another one of 'the Avengers', perhaps?"

Nora had no idea what 'the Avengers' was. Power metal band? Resistance group? Probably the latter.

"Not an Avenger, then," the man said, apparently seeing the confusion on her face. "So, pray tell; who are you?"

Nora didn't quite know what he expected, and she didn't really know what to tell him either. "I'm Nora," she eventually said, in lack of something better.

"And what else?"

She still had no idea what to tell him. "I - I am a literature student."

The man snickered, and there was something dangerous in his eyes. "Nora, the literature student. I see. And yet, you are standing here, fully armed - and let us not forget the way you fell from the sky, landing on your feet without a scratch. I may not be the most knowledgeable in Midgardian anatomy, but I know enough to realise how unlikely it is, for you to be standing here without any form of injury." He stopped right in front of her, and she had to tilt her head back to look at him. "Now then,  _Nora,"_ he continued. "Do not mistake me for a fool. Who are you? And why are you here?"

A thousand thoughts ran through Nora’s head. He had said 'Midgardian anatomy'. Midgard was what Earth was called in Northern mythology. Could it really be? Could she be standing in front of a Norse god?

Also, she realised how ridiculous her explanation sounded, and had no problem understanding why he didn't believe her. What could she say to convince him she was telling the truth, though? For a moment she considered making something up, but figured that would only make things worse. So what could she do?

 _Tell the truth, I guess,_ she thought, and decided to do just that.

"Believe me, I do not mistake you for a fool," she said, because she did _not_ mistake him for a fool. "But I _am_ a literature student. I have military training, thus the weapons. As for why I am here – there were some aliens very keen on killing me, so I hitched a ride with one of the-“ she waved her hand in the general direction of the fighting going on below, “space-wagon-ships. It flew past here. I jumped off.”

“Indeed. You jumped off. So why are your legs not broken?”

She glanced down at her feet before looking at him. “I have absolutely no idea. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Honestly,” the man said, and actually rolled his eyes, “ _that_  is the story you choose to go with?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

“And this you expect me to believe?”

“No,” she said, quietly. “But it’s the only explanation I have, save for making something up. And I thought perhaps you wouldn’t appreciate that.”

“Well, the latter is true, if nothing else,” he said, studying her. “Do you know who I am?”

“No.”

Gazing at her, he cocked his head. “A skilled liar will recognise a lie," he said, still studying her. "And yet, I recognise no lie in you." He paused before continuing. "They call me the Liesmith. I am the-"

He stopped mid-sentence when her eyes widened.

"Loki," she almost whispered. "You are Loki."

He looked slightly surprised, but then he smirked. “Yes. The God of Lies. And yet I see no lie in you.”

“That’s because I am telling the truth, even though my story sounds completely ridiculous.”

“I am almost inclined to believe you. But I-“

He was interrupted by a booming, angry voice. “Loki!”

Nora saw the shift in the raven-haired man (god?) in front of her. His expression turned to stone, his entire body tensed, and just to top it off, he was surrounded in a golden glow for a moment, and when it faded, he was wearing a golden helmet, a green cape, and the leather ‘coat’ he had before was now suddenly armoured with metal platings on his shoulders, parts of his chest, down his arms – even his _vambraces_ had changed from their dark bronze to a golden colour.

He looked ready for battle.

Turning around, Nora found another person ready for battle. The modern Viking was standing there, and he did not look happy.

She heard Loki chuckle from behind her. “Thor.”

Correction; _Thor_ was standing there, and he did not look happy.

“Stop this madness, brother.”

Nora heard an angry hiss from Loki. “I am not your brother!”

Well, great. She had managed to land herself in the middle of a Norse-god-family-feud.

Thor’s expression saddened. “Loki. Stop this madness.”

“I think not.”

Thor’s expression hardened again, and he took a step closer. “Then I will-“

Nora felt hands on her shoulders, pulling her until her back was against Loki’s chest. Mostly, anyway. He was quite a lot taller than her.

“There is no stopping it, Thor,” Loki hissed. “I suggest you leave, _‘brother’._ Or, you could _not_ leave, of course, but then I would be forced to kill her.”

Nora felt something cold underneath her chin, and swallowed nervously when she realised it was that staff with the glowing crystal.

“Please, brother! See reason.”

 _“Leave,_ Thor!” Loki exclaimed. “Leave now! I will not-“

He had pulled her back, and she had almost lost her balance, something that resulted in her instinctively reaching for something to hold onto, and that ‘something’ was Loki’s hand. The hand holding the staff. It hadn’t been intentional, but happened nevertheless.

The reaction was instant. Loki cried out in pain, and let go of the staff, of her, before dropping down on his knees, clutching his head.

“Brother!”

Nora had read the stories. A lot was fiction, probably, but in that moment she knew that not all was fiction. The worry in Thor’s eyes was so painfully obvious that Nora felt a twinge in her heart on Thor’s behalf.

The God of Thunder dropped to his knees in front of Loki, and looked like he was about to grab the raven-haired man for a moment, but then he withdrew his hands. “What is wrong?” Loki didn’t answer, so Thor looked up at Nora. “What did you do?”

Nora had no idea, obviously, but dropped down to her knees next to the God of Thunder. “I have no idea.”

Thor took a hold of Loki’s shoulders and straightened him up. “Brother,” he said again, softer this time. “Are you ill? What ails you?”

Loki’s eyes opened then, and Nora watched in fascination when the Liesmith’s eyes changed colour. The piercing blue colour changed as they watched, and in the end, Loki was looking at Thor with green eyes.

Thor stared at Loki. “What… what happened? What happened to the colour of your eyes?”

Loki took a deep, shivering breath. “My mind was not my own, you imbecile.”

“What?”

“By the Norns, Thor,” Loki said, and the jaded tone in his voice was almost amusing, had not the situation been anything _but_ amusing. “Do you pay any attention at all? Do _any_  of you pay attention? Or are every single one of you complete _morons?"_

Thor did not look pleased at all. "Do not speak of-"

Nora could see a spark of fury in Loki’s eyes as he cut Thor off. "I shall speak however I want! You are -" Loki froze, and his eyes widened in an almost panic. "No no no," he said, and there was a hint of desperation in his voice. His hands went up, clutching onto Thor's arms. "The Mad Titan - he - I am-"

Nora watched as Loki's expression went blank, and his eyes flickered.

 _Oh,_  Nora thought. _They are turning blue._

His eyes had changed from blue to green, and with it, his whole posture had changed as well. 'My mind was not my own' he had said. And now he was changing again, and his eyes were turning blue. She didn't know who 'the Mad Titan' was, but if the God of Mischief, Chaos, and Fire feared him, he was probably rather powerful. Powerful enough to affect someone's mind, even from far away? And what had snapped Loki out of the whole 'mind-control' thing in the first place? It had happened when Nora touched him. Could she do the same again?

How the hell should she know? She was new at this. It didn't harm to try, however, so Nora reached out a hand, touching Loki’s hand. He was still clutching onto Thor's arm, and Nora realised he was fighting. Fighting what? Was there a mind-battle against the Mad Titan - whoever the fuck that was - going on?

How the hell should she know?

As it turned out, Nora could do it again, because when her hand touched his, Loki's expression shifted, and suddenly he sighed. He had been squeezing his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, they were green.

Okay. So that happened. Okay. Except… _what the hell?_

Loki's focus shifted, and he fixed his eyes on Nora "How are you doing that? _Who are you?"_

"Nora, literature student," she said before giving him a small wave with her free hand. "Hello."

She could swear there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes, but then his expression darkened as he turned his eyes on Thor. "What is it – one year, three months since I…” Loki shuddered for some reason before continuing. “Fell from the Bifrost? What exactly do you think I have been doing all that time? Sitting somewhere, cackling madly, while planning world domination, like some stereotypical mad villain?”

“I thought you dead! Had I known… I would have-“

“That is not an answer to my question, Thor! What do you think I have been doing? _Where_ do you think I have been?”

Thor looked uncomfortable now. “When I learned of your return - I did not know what to think. I assumed you had been…hiding somewhere…planning – brother, I do not know!”

“Hiding? _Hiding!?”_

Loki’s eyes were almost glowing with fury, and if looks could kill, Thor would have been in big trouble.

 _God of Fire, indeed,_ Nora thought. _How apt._

“You call yourself my brother,” Loki hissed. “But would not a brother recognise…something? _Anything,_ Thor!”

Loki proceeded to stand up in one fluid motion, pulling Nora with him in the same movement.

“I am sorry, brother,” Thor said, mournfully. “I did not realise something was wrong.“

Loki gave Thor a dark look. “I do not have time, nor patience to soothe your guilt.”

Thor’s eyes widened as Loki turned to pick up the staff. “Wait! Where are you going? What are you-“

“I am going to _stop_ this idiocy.”

Loki picked up the staff after hesitating for a moment, and it almost seemed as if he let out a relieved breath when nothing happened.

“Loki,” Thor said, quietly. “Please, brother. Tell me. Where were you?”

Loki just looked down at Thor with an emotionless expression. “Did you know, Thor, that time flows differently in the Void? It moves…slower. When one day has passed here – one year has passed in the Void.”

Thor looked at Loki with a blank expression at first, but then Nora could see a flicker of… _something_ in his eyes before his expression changed, and it looked like he was slowly moving toward a horrific realisation. “Brother,” he whispered, “speak plainly. Where were you?”

“Will you inform your ‘avengers’ that it would be a very poor decision to kill me on sight?”

Thor stood up, taking a hold of Loki’s arm. “Loki! Where _were_ you?”

Loki ignored Thor’s question. “Will you inform your little band of misfits?”

Thor eventually nodded. “I will.”

Loki nodded as well. “Good. As for your question – I think perhaps you are able to figure that out all on your own.”

Nora didn’t know what happened, but suddenly their surroundings changed, and looking around, Nora realised they were in front of the device that seemed to be the source of the blue beam.

Nora also realised this was the source of the humming. Vibration. Echo. Guitar string. Whatever.

“That blue thing,” she said quietly. “What is it?”

“The Tesseract.”

She didn’t quite know how to reply to that, so she merely watched as Loki raised his staff – and after hesitating for a moment – driving the staff directly into the energy barrier.

-o-

If her head hadn’t been so full of questions and confusion, and had she been slightly less terrified than she was in this moment, Nora would have found this situation hilarious.

She was on one of those space-wagon-ship-things, Loki was the chauffer, and they were moving through the streets, narrowly avoiding buildings, other space-wagon-ship-things – while being shot at from left and right _all_ the time.

Nora was trying her best to retaliate, of course, but considering how she had only one free hand, it was rather complicated.

Her other hand was holding Loki’s hand. And that was the hilarious part.

Loki had one hand on the controllers of the space-wagon-ship-thing, and was rather unable to do anything but steer the space-wagon-ship-thing because his other hand was currently occupied.

And _that_ would have been hilarious, if not for the alien invasion going on around them.

Loki eventually put the staff in the hand holding hers, and now they were holding the staff _together,_ and it was just _utterly_ ridiculous.

He had barely spoken to her since they – he – closed the hole in the sky. Iron Man showed up just in time to see that Loki was the one shutting things down, and he had been confused to say the least. Loki had told him to ask Thor, and then teleported away – with her, of course.

And now they were speeding through the streets of New York, holding hands as if they thought alien invasions were totally romantic. Not to mention they were holding the staff together – fingers entwined, curled around the magical spear. It probably looked like they had a ‘oh, darling, let us invade the world together! Murder, darling! Murder!’ thing going on.

They were like Bonnie and Clyde – alien invasion edition.

The whole thing had been hilarious – if not for the severity of the situation. Loki had merely grabbed her hand, pulling her with him like she was something annoying he was forced to drag around. (well, this was true in a sense, but still) He was barely speaking to her, and did most certainly  _not_ ask for her opinion about anything.

She could of course protest, resist the whole ‘being dragged around’ thing, and demand that he at would least speak to her, but she had so far refrained from doing so. Loki was immensely powerful, so with him on the right side of the invasion, and the hole in the sky closed – well things were looking up.

Nora decided she could hold off the protests for now, because maybe, just _maybe_ stopping the alien invasion was slightly more important at this point.

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Glad Tidings, Em-Em!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet Emma, and give her a mental applause.

Chapter 3 - Glad Tidings, Em-Em!

-o-

Eventually, the aliens lost. Thank god. The aliens lost, and Nora was still holding the God of Mischief's hand. Or perhaps a more apt description would be that  _he_  was holding  _her_  hand. Rather forcefully so, at that.

They were currently walking down a street, moving toward... Nora had absolutely no idea. Loki was still barely talking to her, and she was getting rather sick of it. She was still confused, but after a whole day of kill-or-be-killed, she was too tired to be confused. She was getting rather annoyed, though.

After turning yet another corner, Nora rolled her eyes. "Loki?"

He glanced at her. "Yes?"

She didn't even know what to ask, or where to begin. "Could you at least tell me where we are going?"

"No."

Nora mentally cursed the man before deliberately slowing down, pulling on his arm to make him stop. Or to annoy him, if nothing else.

He stopped and looked at her,  _clearly_  annoyed. "What?" 

She raised an eyebrow. "I would like to remind you of a few things. One; I am not some  _thing_  you can drag around as you please. Two; did you forget I am human? Which again means I don't have unlimited stamina. I was already exhausted hours ago, and this endless walking without even knowing where we are going or how long we are going to wander around like this - consider me demotivated. Three; I didn't even know that aliens, gods, superheroes, and huge, green men  _existed_  until today, and being dragged around like this after the day I've had - well, it's not an activity I would choose.  _Ever._  Four; could you at least  _talk?_  I don't even care what you talk about, but  _Jesus Christ on a candlestick,_  I'm going nuts. Five; we should probably figure something out before I have to pee, because  _that's_  not happening. Six;  _we should generally figure this out!_  Seven; I don't know where my friend Emma is, and it terrifies me, because I'm pretty sure she headed out to fight today as well. I need to know that she's okay, or at least not dead. Eight; please stop being a complete asshole. Nine; please stop being a complete asshole. Ten - can you guess what ten is?"

Loki stared at her for a small eternity, and his expression flickered with a mixture of emotions. Mostly it was different levels of anger, but she noticed the brief moment where he just looked…vulnerable. Vulnerable and afraid. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. Man, his eyes were expressive. One just had to pay attention.

After a small eternity, and then another small eternity, his expression changed, and there was a reluctant acceptance there. She even thought she could see a hint of amusement.

Raising an eyebrow, he pursed his lips for a moment before speaking. “Would I be correct if I guessed ‘please stop being a complete asshole’?”

She gave him a genuinely amused smile. “Nope. It’s actually; wow, so Norse gods are real? That’s fucking fascinating! If you are real, does that mean Asgard, Valhalla, and whatnot are real as well? Also, did you actually make Thor dress up like Freyja? And then proceed to  _successfully_  make them believe all through the meal that this was, in fact, Freyja?”

He just blinked at first, apparently not at all prepared for the abrupt change in topic and mood. He was probably not prepared for her sudden enthusiasm either, because he narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was trying to figure out whether she was joking or not.

“I’m not joking, no, because wow,  _really?_  Anyway, will you please tell me where we are going?”

He raised an eyebrow. “The grace in which you change conversation topics is astounding.”

Nora laughed. “I know. It’s one of my skills.”

“I cannot wait to hear about the rest,” Loki said, and she laughed again. “And no. I cannot tell you where we are going, because I do not know.”

Nora was about to say ‘what? why?’ but managed to stop herself when she realised he probably didn’t quite know what to do either, and that just sitting down would just make everything worse. It would make it worse for her, at least.

“All right,” she said, shrugging. “In that case, could we attempt to find Emma?”

After gazing at her for a moment, he nodded.

-o-

Nora figured Emma’s house was as good as any to start, and when they began walking again, Nora felt much better. It generally felt a lot better if one only had a goal.

She prayed Emma was all right. She had a feeling she was all right, because Emma was most definitely not a damsel in distress. Still, accidents could happen, and Nora had an icy lump of 'what if' lodged in her chest.

"What are you going to tell her when you find her?"

Nora gave Loki a puzzled look. "The truth. Why do you ask?"

"You are going to tell her the truth," he deadpanned. "I'm sure that will turn out just fine."

"Of course it will."

"You cannot be serious."

"Of course I'm serious," Nora said, rolling her eyes. "It'll be just fine."

"What if she recognises me?"

"Recognises you? What do you mean?"

He gave her an annoyed look. "Are you being deliberately obtuse? Did you miss the part where I attempted world domination just earlier today?"

Nora couldn't stop herself from going all sarcastic herself. "Oh shit, that was  _you?_  And here I thought I'd found someone who could be the Clyde to my Bonnie. But world domination is perhaps going a bit too far. And then one is expected to actually  _rule_  the world afterwards. And  _that_  sounds like an ordeal. No thank you.”

“Now you  _are_  being deliberately obtuse.”

“I like to call it sarcasm.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Call it what you like. Now answer my question.”

“What if she recognises you? Well, then I’ll explain the situation. And if she doesn’t recognise you, I will tell her who you are, and  _then_  explain the situation.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea.”

“Well, what do you suggest? Make something up?”

He shrugged. “It may be a good idea to do just that, yes.”

“I beg to differ,” Nora said, shaking her head. “And even if it was, I would still tell the truth.”

“Ah, yes. Humanity's need for doing the Right Thing. Perish the thought of doing something as horrible as telling a lie."

Nora snorted a laugh, something that earned her a curious look from the God of Mischief.

"That's not it," Nora said, giving him an amused look. "Should the situation arise where I would be better off lying, I will gladly lie through my teeth with a smile on my face. And as long as I get away with it, I don't feel bad for a second afterwards. I won't lie if it has consequences for someone else, though. But this is not about morale, or about ‘doing the Right Thing’ as you so dramatically call it. I am merely choosing the option that will have the best outcome of this situation.”

He hummed non-committedly, so she just ignored him.

Nora prepared what she was going to say if –  _when_  – Emma opened the door. Nora and Emma had codewords, so they could communicate without anyone else realising. If Nora called Emma Em-Em, that meant ‘everything is fine’ (they had used this one surprisingly often). Palmy meant trouble. Tidings meant ‘follow my lead. Interim meant ‘wait’.

And a lot more. It was genius.

-o-

Nora held her breath while waiting for Emma to open the door. What if she wasn’t here? What if something had happened? What if-

Emma opened the door, and Nora spoke before Emma could say anything. “Hey, Em-Em.”

Emma had frozen for a second, but hearing Em-Em made her relax, and she stepped forward to put her arms around Nora’s neck. “Thank god you’re all right. I went to your place earlier, but you weren’t there. I was worried.”

“Sorry. It’s been one hell of a day,” Nora said as she wrapped her one free arm around Emma’s waist. “But, glad tidings, Em-Em – no more hole in the sky.”

Emma stepped back, glancing between Nora and Loki. “I’m guessing there’s a story here somewhere.”

Nora sighed, but gave Emma an amused look. “Emma, meet Loki, Loki, meet Emma."

Loki nodded stiffly at Emma, but Emma gave him a smile anyway.

"It's been a rather odd day, to say the least," Nora said, shaking her head. She turned to look at Loki. “Do you want to tell the story, or should I?”

Loki huffed, rolled his eyes, but then waved impatiently, and Nora took this as a ‘just get on with it already’.

She shrugged, and gestured at Loki before beginning to speak. "The short story? Loki, who is an actual Norse god, because apparently Northern mythology is not so much  _mythology_  as it is a reality. Thor is somewhere in the city as well, Mjolnir and all. Anyway, Loki was the one who opened that hole in the sky, and then wreaked havoc on New York with his alien army."

Loki tensed up next to Nora, and his expression was rather stormy. Nora ignored it.

Emma's eyebrows rose in surprise, but that was the only reaction, and Nora gave Emma a mental applause.

"All right," Emma said, frowning slightly in confusion. "I have a feeling there's more to this story."

"I was chased by five aliens - they were rather persistent - and I knew I had to get away, so I jumped up on a car, and hitched a ride with one of those spacewagonship-things. Of course that was a so-so solution, because suddenly I found myself  _quite_  high in the air. The alien flew over Stark Tower, thankfully, and I jumped off. Loki was there, then Thor arrived, and Loki grabbed me, we had a brief hostage-situation, which ended when I happened to touch his hand. Long story short – apparently I can lift mind-control by touching.”

Emma’s eyes lit up in understanding, and Nora inwardly applauded her friend again.

Emma gestured at their hands. “Which explains the hand-holding.”

“Exactly.”

"All right, I understand," Emma said, nodding. "So what are you going to do now?"

Nora sighed. "Excellent question."

"I do loath the idea, but Asgardian help would be the wisest choice at this point,” Loki said, sighing. “Which means Thor.”

Nora shrugged. She was quite frankly too tired for anything else. “As good as any place to start, I suppose.”

Loki looked…defeated, quite frankly. Exhausted. And that was probably why he tolerated it when she bluntly explained what had happened.

“I suspect they are at Stark Tower. But I am uncertain as to whether or not I will be a welcome sight. I am not certain it is the best idea to show up uninvited.”

“Well, if you can’t go, that means I can’t go,” Nora said before rolling her eyes. “This day… Jesus, this day… Anyway! If we can’t go, how are we going to do this? Because  _someone_  needs to speak to them.”

There was a long moment of silence before both Loki and Nora turned their gaze on Emma.

“I’ll just get my coat, then, shall I?” Emma quipped, and vanished into the flat for a moment. She came back outside, locked the door, and turned to look at the two people holding hands. “All right, let’s go then.”

 

 

 


	4. Reindeer Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet the Avengers.

Chapter 4 - Reindeer Games

-o-

Emma was rather nervous, standing in Stark Tower. When Nora said 'let's go then' Emma had not expected that TELEPORTATION was involved.

One minute ago, she had been standing outside her house, and now she was standing in Stark Tower, _all by herself._ Well, not entirely, because there were three men staring at her, but she was standing here without Nora, and that made her feel rather small and alone right in this moment.

And she was still trying to wrap her head around all of this - aliens, superheroes, _Norse gods_... It was a little too much to handle in one day, if she was to be completely honest.

"Hello there," the man looking like America personified said while approaching her like she was some wounded, terrified animal. “Are you all right?”

The situation was so absurd that Emma couldn’t help the slightly amused look she gave the man. Captain America, was that it?

“For god’s sake, Capsicle,” the second man said, rolling his eyes. “What is she; four? I’m sure she can handle it if you talk to her like a normal person.” He turned to look at her before continuing. “What stars and stripes here is trying to say is ‘who are you and what are you doing here?”

His words were rather blunt, but the expression on his face was void of any kind of annoyance, so she relaxed. At least she knew who he was. Anyone who hadn’t been living under a rock for the past 5 years knew who he was. Tony Stark. Iron Man.

“I’m Emma. I am-“

The third man spoke up before she could even finish her sentence. “You came here with my brother. Is he well? Where is he?”

So this was Thor, then. She had of course already gathered that much, because the whole ‘red cape and bloody _Mjolnir’_ sort of gave him away.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Point Break. Give the lady a chance.” Tony Stark gave her a smile, which she returned. “So, Emma. Drink?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “After this day? _Yes._ Yes, please.”

Tony Stark grinned. “That’s what I like to hear.”

Emma smiled back before turning to Thor. “Hello. Thor, is it?”

The Norse god froze for a moment. “Proper introductions are yet to be made. I apologise, my lady. I am Thor Odinson, of Asgard.”

Emma did _not_ know what to do when the man in the red cape took her hand, because he didn't just shake her hand like regular people did. Instead, he held her hand gingerly as he bowed dramatically, and then proceeded to _not let go_ of her hand when he looked at her again.

"Honoured to meet you, Emma," he finished, and finally let go of her hand.

"Uh, likewise," Emma managed. "Hello."

"Jesus Christ," Tony Stark said as he came over to her, handing her a glass with a brown liquid in it. Whiskey, she guessed. "But yeah, that's Thor, I'm Tony, and Spangles over there is Steve."

Emma took the drink, and waved awkwardly at Steve. "Hello," she said again. Jesus, she really needed to get a grip.

"So, Emma. Since Reindeer Games is involved, I guess this isn't just a social call?"

Emma looked at Tony. "Reindeer Games?"

Tony rolled his eyes as he gestured lazily to his head. "Loki. He has this helmet with a whole lot of golden horns going on. It's all very dramatic."

"We have more important matters to discuss, Man of Iron."

Emma had to take a moment to process the absurdity of the situation she was in, but when a pair of blue eyes met hers - _wow,_ his eyes were blue - she snapped out of it. 

"Loki and Nora is-"

"Who is Nora?"

This was Steve interrupting her, but she couldn't even answer before Thor spoke.

"Nora Literature Student," he said gravely, and Emma had to pinch herself so she didn't burst out laughing. "It is the woman I spoke of - the one who lifted the Mad Titan's control of my brother."

"Ah, I see," Steve said before looking at Emma. "So she really did that? And he was actually mind-controlled."

Emma nodded. "I wasn't there, but that's what Nora tells me, and if Nora says so, then I believe her.”

“Yeah, Thor explained to us what happened,” Steve said, nodding. “But…it’s not just one of Loki’s tricks?”

Emma shook her head. “Nora is no fool, believe me – but still, she seems quite certain about this. And…well, she tends to be right about these things. I’m not saying there is absolutely no chance she might be wrong, but nor does she. And then there’s the fact that she has been walking around holding his hand all day. She would have been less certain by now, I think.”

_“Excuse me?”_

Emma looked at Tony. “What?”

“Reindeer Games has walked around _holding her hand?”_

Nodding, Emma gave Tony an amused smile. “Yep.”

“Oh god, I would _pay_ to see that.”

“You don’t have to. That’s why I’m here, in fact. Nora can’t let go of his hand, and the situation is not…optimal. So, I’m here because someone needs to figure out what the hell is going on, and Loki wasn’t entirely certain you would throw him a welcome-party. Generally, they need to figure this out because, according to Nora ‘because I have to _pee_ at some point, and _that’s_ not happening’.”

“Oh, this is _great!_ Oh my god! I don’t even _care_ if this is one of his tricks, if I just get to see him holding hands with someone. Oh Jesus, this is priceless!”

“He is willing to come here?” Thor said quietly. “Does he know I am here?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah. I was to contact them when I had talked to you guys, and then they will come here.”

Thor sighed in relief. “Thank you, Emma,” he said, taking her hand again and looking at her with those impossibly blue eyes. “I am grateful for your aid. And for your faith in my brother. I realise you have faith in your friend first, but still… I thank you.”

Emma didn’t quite know what to say, but tried her best to not be all flustered – because _damn,_ those blue eyes, and Jesus, the open honesty in them, and fuck, why did he have to look at her all softly like that?

“No problem, really,” Emma managed. “It’s…should I call them?”

Tony smirked. “Yeah, please do. Cus’ I _really_ need to see this!”

Thor gave her a small smile before letting go of her hand, and she fought the urge to giggle nervously. The whole ‘honourable knight’ thing was way out of her comfort zone. And he was…strange. He was _really_ strange, but then again _everything_ was strange, quite frankly. But yeah, he was strange. Also, he was possibly the prettiest man Emma had ever seen. Well, damn.

“I’ll call them,” Emma said, picked up her phone, and dialled Nora’s number.

 

 

 

 


	5. Aaand it was Too Late. Darn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for kudos and comments! It’s so motivating! Anyway, here’s another chapter! Love y’all!

Chapter 5 - Aaand it was Too Late. Darn.

-o-

Nora was relieved. They had arrived at Stark Tower, and Nora could clearly see how apprehensive Loki was. There had been a whole lot of silence and staring first, but then Tony had cracked, laughing so hard he had to hold on to the kitchen island to not topple over. Not even Loki's 'I still have one hand free, Stark' had done anything to help, and Tony was not so much breathing as he was wheezing in the end.

Well, it had eased the tension, if nothing else. There had still been a whole lot of doubt going on, but that too had mostly vanished when Nora needed to pee. Because  _Jesus,_  she needed to pee, and Loki coming with her was absolutely not an option. She was  _not_  holding the God of Mischief’s hand while peeing. No. Nope. Njet.  _Hell_  njet.

Thor, Tony, Steve, and Emma had been there when Nora let go of Loki's hand, and when Nora came back from the toilet (she now held the world record as ‘quickest person to pee in world history’ – she was certain of it) she found Loki on his knees on the floor, clutching his head. Thor was on the floor in front of Loki, holding his brother by the shoulders while saying things like ‘you are strong, brother, you can fight this’. Tony, Steve, and Emma were standing around the two gods, and while Emma had believed that Nora had an inkling of what she was talking about, Tony and Steve had been less certain. Seeing Loki like this changed something, however. Steve had looked almost as worried as Emma (Steve was too sweet and kind for his own good, honestly), and Tony had been watching the two brothers on the floor with a frown, and he had looked like he was contemplating rather a lot.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ Nora had murmured as she ran over and dropped to her knees, putting her hand on his hand.

Loki had stilled then, and opened his eyes just in time for everyone to see his eyes when they shifted from blue to green.

Even Tony had been rather silent after that – although Nora did not doubt he would be back to his old self within no time.

-o-

"So what are we going to do?"

Nora noticed how Loki looked slightly surprised by Steve's question, and it took her a moment to realise why. 'We' was the world Steve used, which meant that Captain America intended to help solve this pickle.

"Brother, we would do well to go to Asgard."

Loki gave Thor a dark look. "I shall not return to Asgard," he said before sighing. "Not now."

Thor looked like he wanted to object, but eventually sighed as well. "You know we need aid, Loki. The Mad Titan is not to be trifled with."

"Do I look as if I am  _trifling,_  Thor?"

"I did not - no. No, you do not look like you are trifling, brother. Very well,  _I_  shall go to Asgard."

-o-

As it turned out, Thor going to Asgard was a genius move, because he returned just a little while later with a solution. Well, a solution for some of the predicaments, at least.

He brought something called a 'Shield Stone', and true to its word, the Stone shielded Loki from influential magic. The setback was that it only shielded him for a few minutes at the time, and then the magic in the Stone had to 'recharge' before it could be used again.

Which meant Nora could go to the toilet without holding the hand of a Norse god. Yay!

It was somewhat hilarious, though, that a powerful, magical artefact would be used so Nora could go to the toilet.

Thor had returned to Asgard after delivering the Shield Stone, because if they were to figure this out, they needed more information. Frigga - according to Thor - was already working on finding relevant books and other things she perhaps thought could be of use. Thor would bring whatever Frigga found back here, so Loki could do research. 

 _"Mother wishes you well. She misses you,"_  Thor had told Loki, and Nora could see how Loki's face darkened, and the look he sent Thor was practically hostile. Thor had apparently noticed as well, because he merely gave Loki a mournful look before walking away.

Nora had watched the display, and she was quite frankly astounded by Thor's lack of ability to see past Loki's hostility. How could he not notice the vulnerability underneath?  _Nora_  noticed, and she had known the man for less than a day.

She wondered what exactly had happened to cause this. She knew some of it, if the books on Northern mythology were somewhat accurate.

Loki was not Odin's biological son, nor Thor's biological brother. Loki was a Frost Giant, something they had neglected to inform Loki of, and as a result, Loki had grown up believing Frost Giants were monsters. The lore didn't mention anything about Loki being told the truth, so apparently this had to be a more recent event. Because Loki knew, that much was clear, if his frequent 'you are not my brother' comments was anything to go by.

He had forgotten himself one time, and had said brother instead of Thor.

Neither Thor, nor Loki had even noticed.

-o-

“So, boys and girls,” Tony said, clapping his hands together. "Since you are here, and Steve seems to automatically think that we are all a part of this thing -" 

"Tony-"

"Yeah, yeah, Spangles. I'm in. Don't get yourself all worked up. Anyway, you are here, and there's definitely room for everyone. Basically - pick a bedroom, and make yourself comfortable."

Loki tensed up, his eyes widened, and he glanced at their entwined fingers before looking at Tony.

Oh. Loki hadn't thought about that, now had he? The fact that this predicament of theirs also meant they would have to do such things as sleep in the same bed, eat together, sit together, shower together – oh, hello. Not that, perhaps. Although, looking at him – she wouldn’t be entirely against the idea.

And that was the end of that chain of thoughts, before she began picturing him naked. Because that wouldn’t – aaand it was too late. Darn.

Loki had perhaps not considered all these things, but Nora had. She’d had a lot of time contemplating all these things while wandering aimlessly around with the God of Mischief.

It hadn’t taken her long before she realised this was probably not something they could just fix in a jiffy, and considering how she couldn’t just  _leave_  him either - she could do without  _another_  alien invasion, quite frankly – she had ended up picturing the different scenarios, and how this would affect things.

She had tried to picture all the worst-case scenarios as well, and was happy that none of them had become reality. Several of them had involved Nora dying, Loki dying, or just the world in general dying.

Her brain had become extremely creative in the end, and there were a wide range of scenarios. Nora becoming an astronaut, a slave in Asgard, one where they moved into the woods, and one where Nora became Queen of the World. 

That had been when Nora decided it was time to stop picturing worst case scenarios.

But, Nora had thankfully considered these things - including sleeping in the same bed - and she was glad, because if she hadn't, this would have become extremely awkward, extremely fast. Well, it would be awkward anyway, but less awkward, if nothing else.

"And by the looks of it, only one of the lovebirds has realised that they won't need two bedrooms."

Of course Tony had to make this worse. The man couldn't help himself.

Before Loki could go all out in a fit of rage, Nora rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, Tony. What are you; five?"

Tony smirked. "Yes."

"Oh, well in that case it won't be a problem for me to destroy you in Need for Speed tomorrow then."

Tony's eyes widened, and then narrowed again. "Oooh, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into, lady."

Nora smirked. "We'll see about that, won't we? Anyway, let's find a room before Emma snags the best one."

"Hey!" Emma exclaimed, but then her eyes narrowed mischievously. "You're on."

Nora cursed as Emma took off, realising she couldn't just run after her, because the Norse god sitting next to her would probably find it less funny than Nora.”

She hadn't even stopped cursing before they were standing in a hallway. 

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she realised Loki had teleported them to where all the rooms were. "Hah!"

Loki actually looked slightly amused, and Nora smirked before opening the nearest door.

-o-

They found the best room, in Nora's opinion, and when Emma came running, Nora laughed. "We win!"

"You  _cheated,_  you mean!"

"Oh, I'm  _sorry_ ," Nora drawled, clearly not sorry at all. "Where exactly does it say 'teleportation not allowed'? As far as I know, that's not a rule."

"It's not - that's not -" Emma narrowed her eyes as she pointed a finger at Nora. "Well... _it is now!"_

Nora smirked. "I'll try my  _best_  to remember that."

-o-

The room was big, had a bed that looked like heaven - not to mention it had room for at least five people - and there was a bathroom attached.

Nora hummed as she looked around, ignoring the fact that Loki was quiet, and that this was when things might just get awkward.

She burst out laughing completely out of the blue. Not like 'completely laughing fit' kind of laughter, just a genuine, amused laughter.

"What?"

All right, the God of fire found it less amusing, but she decided to ignore that, so she just gave him an amused smile instead. "This has to be the most ridiculous, absurd, surreal thing I have done in my entire life. Not so much 'done' perhaps. Experienced, maybe." He just raised an eyebrow, so she continued. "Yesterday -  _yesterday_  - I was at home, working on the bloody school essay I'm supposed to deliver this Friday. And now? Aliens, Norse gods, superheroes, and...I don't even know any longer. What the fuck happened?"

She was relieved to see a glint of amusement in his eyes. 

-o-

Loki used the Shield Stone, so Nora could get ready for bed, and then he vanished into the bathroom the moment she got out. Sighing, Nora picked up a book, and climbed into the bed.

They had popped by (teleportation was neat) Emma's place, and Nora's place, so the girls could pack some clothes, toiletries - the general stuff. 

Nora had brought her laptop, some books, even some school papers, in case she should - she didn't even know. She could try to work from home, or in this case - Stark Tower. It  _was_  possible to achieve, and she  _did_  want to finish her education, even if she was linked to a Norse-god-reluctant-world-conquer for the unforeseeable future.

She could think about that later, though. For now, she had to deal with the fact that she was going to sleep in the same bed as a Norse god she met just earlier today.

Jesus, had it only been one day? In just  _one_  day, her view on the world had changed drastically, and even that was putting it  _mildly._  Everything was just  _completely_  insane. And at any second, Loki would come out of the bathroom – oh shit, that’s right, he was coming out of the bathroom soon, and he was going to be beyond comfortable about this situation.

Nora shook off her thoughts, curled up below the covers, and opened her book.

-o-

He came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, and Nora glanced at him. He looked tense.

He looked tense? Hah, no shit, Sherlock.

“Did you know,” Nora said without looking at him, “that horses are literally unable to vomit?”

“Pardon?”

His voice sounded amused, so she dared to peek over the book. “Horses can’t vomit.”

“Why in the  _world_  do you feel the need to share that with me?”

“Because it was a curious fact-thing in my book, and I was just reading it. Also, it was slightly gross, and I feel a bit bad for the horse.”

Thank god and every deity in the entire universe, he was climbing into the bed. And by climbing, she meant moving up in the bed with movements that reminded her of a predator – which of the big cats was the most graceful? Cheetah? Loki reminded her of a cheetah. Also – a bloody gazelle. A predatory gazelle.

And sweet mercy, she had to remember how to breathe, because apparently she had stopped doing that for a moment, and it was getting rather uncomfortable.

But… _shit._  The Norse god with the pitch black hair, green eyes, and elegant, soft hands (she was getting rather familiar with his hands) – the God of Chaos, Fire, and Mischief –  _that_  person was currently climbing into bed with her. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Jesus. Christ.

 _Stop that!_  she thought, and eventually her brain complied – thank  _god_  – and by the time the God of Chaos, Fire, and Mischief had tucked himself beneath the covers, Nora was able to breathe again.

Without saying a word, Nora stretched her hand out on the mattress, letting the back of her hand rest there while she was still focused on her book.

She was relieved when he took her hand a few moments later, but then she felt something strange around her wrist, and gave him a startled look. “What are you doing?”

“Binding.”

A whole lot of thoughts ran through her head before she realised what he was talking about. He was ‘binding’ their hands together so they wouldn’t let go of each other’s hands during the night.

“Ah,” she eventually said. “Good idea.”

Nora read until her eyelids wouldn’t stay open any longer (which was about ten minutes) and after placing the book on the nightstand, she curled up below the covers and closed her eyes.

“Good night, Loki,” she said softly. “Sleep tight.”

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
